Summer Harvest

  

   It's that time of year again. The time when the warm summer sunshine has turned our gardens into a bountiful harvest.  While I don't have a garden of my own, I am fortunate enough to have some friendly suppliers who are more than happy to have me turn their crop into something sweet.  

     This year I decided to try out a new recipe and combine zucchini with blueberries and one of my most favourite baking ingredients - cinnamon. The results were gobbled up!  There are several ingredients in this recipe that will make you feel good about eating these muffins. Give it a try and you'll see what I mean.   

Zucchini Blueberry Streusel Muffins *adapted from allrecipes.ca Makes enough for 24 muffins or 2 loaves of bread
For the batter:
3 eggs 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup oil 2 1/4 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups grated zucchini  3 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon cinnamon 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (no need to thaw)
For the streusel:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick), cold 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

•  In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat eggs, applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy
•  Place grated zucchini onto some paper towels and pat out extra moisture
•  Add zucchini to bowl or mixer and stir until just combined
•  Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
•  Mix until well combined
•  Gently stir in blueberries
•  Spread batter evenly among lined muffin cups or pour into two greased loaf pans
•  For streusel, add all ingredients to a bowl and cut with a pastry cutter, or two forks, until small crumbs form
•  Sprinkle evenly over tops of muffins or loaves
•  Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes for muffins or 50 minutes for loaves, or until a toothpick comes out clean
•  Cool before slicing and serving loaves

I made these for my sister in law's birthday. She is expecting, 

so I tried to balance the cupcakes with something 'healthy!' 

It's Treat Tuesday!

  

     This Tuesday sure does feel like a treat.  I'm hosting my very first blog hop! I'm so excited to see the many delicious looking posts and have the opportunity to connect with other Bloggers. To celebrate I'm sharing this recipe for moist and delicious double chocolate zucchini bread.  It bakes up well and makes two loaves; one for you and one to share, what could be more perfect? Go ahead, treat yourself!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 3 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2-3 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

• In a large bowl, beat the sugar, applesauce, eggs and vanilla until well blended
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder
• Gradually beat dry mixture into wet mixture until blended
• Stir in zucchini and fold in chocolate chips
• Transfer mixture into two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans coated with non-stick cooking spray
• Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean
• Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely

*A special and heartfelt thank-you to Sinea over at 
Ducks 'n a Row
for her help getting me started on my first blog hop.

Wedding at Cana Zucchini

    
     Recently a friend of ours stopped by with a special delivery; two very large, homegrown zucchinis from his father's garden.  What makes this zucchini extra special is the fact that our friend went out of his way, on his bike, at the onset of a great summer thunderstorm to bring us this wonderful summer squash.  As it turns out, this is the gift that keeps on giving!

     We ate some for supper that night; roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper and tossed with pasta. It was fantastic!  Our kids though, wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole so I decided to get creative.  The next day I donned my apron, searched my recipe books, and found the recipe below.  It baked up well, didn't require too much effort and I had everything I needed in my pantry and fridge. What more can you ask for?  What I didn't expect was how far this zucchini would go!  Turns out I spent more time in the kitchen than I had planned to, but the reward was more than worth it!  Spending a rainy day in the kitchen is a treat for me and being able to give away a bounty of zucchini bread to my friends and family warms me from within.  It may not be as monumental as turning water into wine, but for me, it was pretty close. 

Turning Zucchini Into Something My Kids Will Eat

You Will Need:

1 egg
1/2 cup Miracle Whip Dressing
1 1/2 cups grated Zucchini (unpaired)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

~Heat oven to 350 degrees
~Beat egg and Miracle Whip in large bowl with whisk until well blended.
~Stir in zucchini.
~Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl.
~Add to zucchini mixture, stir until just moistened.

~Pour into loaf pan sprayed with Pam.

~Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.
~Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove and continue to cool on wire rack.

Before...

During...

and After!